Markos Moulitsas “Screw Them” Zuniga of Daily Kos desperately tries to “frame the issues” so that the Kos Kidz don’t look like a bunch of weak, whining stoners: Two ways to address the war. (Hat tip: Chrenkoff.)

Democrats have been loathe to talk about Iraq, as their palpable fear get in the way of leadership on this increasingly important issue.

So here are two ways to talk about the war that don’t betray weakness:

Promoting a withdrawal

We have a lot to be proud of over the past three years. We have freed the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator and given them their first taste of freedom. Iraq held successful presidential elections earlier this year, and the nation is now run by a democratic-elected government.

We have accomplished what we set out to do — bring freedom to Iraq and rid the region of the specter of Saddam’s terror.

But now it is time to let the Iraqis take charge of their own lives. The future belongs to a free democratic Iraq, but it is a future they must fight for themselves.

Afraid to call for withdrawal? Hammer on “accountability”.

We are facing a crisis in Iraq, and yet no one is being held accountable. Our troops don’t have enough men, equipment, or armor to effectively and safely do their job, yet those responsible for these deadly miscalculations remain at their jobs. They claim, as they always have, that Iraq is about to turn yet another corner, pass yet another milestone on the road to peace and prosperity. But the reality on the ground mocks those assertions.

We must have accountability in order to win this war. Those responsible for so many catastrophic mistakes must replaced by more competent, more effective, people.

This new direction, of course, comes after years of brittle screaming from Markos that “bringing democracy to Iraq” is nothing but a lie and a sham, and that we need to immediately cut and run. It’s a little glimpse into the utter moral bankruptcy of the modern left, as they twist, distort, and change their stories at will depending on the political wind.